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Published on: March 28, 2025
Imaging pain modulation in health and disease
Ulrike Bingel1, Eszter Schoell, Christian Büchel
1NeuroImage Nord, Department of Neurology, University Medical Center Hamburg-Eppendorf, Germany. bingel@uke.uni-hamburg.de
Current Opinion in Neurology
|July 11, 2007
Summary
This review explores pain imaging research, focusing on how the central nervous system
Area of Science:
- Neuroscience
- Pain Research
- Medical Imaging
Background:
- Pain perception involves complex modulation by endogenous pain control mechanisms.
- Disruptions in these mechanisms are implicated in chronic pain conditions.
Purpose of the Study:
- To review recent advances in pain imaging research.
- To examine the role of endogenous pain control in healthy and chronic pain states.
Main Methods:
- Review of functional and anatomical neuroimaging studies.
- Exploration of pharmacological interventions in pain imaging.
Main Results:
- Pain modulation occurs at multiple levels of information processing.
- Cortical and brainstem networks are key in endogenous pain modulation.
- Altered interactions in pain modulation mechanisms may contribute to chronic pain.
Conclusions:
- Top-down pain modulation involves both cortical and subcortical structures.
- Understanding this circuitry is crucial for developing new chronic pain treatments.
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